Homemade Honey Face Mask & Cleanser Recipe

Do you eat chocolate? If so try eliminating it for one month and see if your breakouts stop. I know this is a debated topic but personally I found out it was indeed chocolate that was making me break out. If I eat it then two weeks later I have a break out. It’s worth a try at least.

Nothing you eat directly causes acne. It’s an old wive’s tale that cola or chocolate cause acne; it’s more likely that the same hormones or nutritional imbalances that cause a menstrual cycle, cause cravings for certain foods. In other words, both acne and cravings are caused by hormones. Acne occurs for one of several reasons. Either you are leaning on the area (for instance, leaning your chin on your hand, or your bra rubbing) or sweat can exacerbate it. Washing should not be harsh. The real reason you wash is to remove dirt and hydrate the skin to prepare it for any treatments or applications that follow. And washing with warm and rinsing with cool to close pores is also nonsense, your pores are your pores.

Acne is caused when your sebaceous glands do not expel sebum and dead skin cells quickly enough. They plug up, that’s a blackhead. If they then get infected and inflamed, that’s a whitehead. Cystic acne is an entirely different level and may require a doctor’s attention. So what you want to do to get rid of acne is to speed up the DESQUAMATION, or peeling/shedding, of the skin pore so it won’t back up or plug up. Washing is not supposed to be harsh or punishing. Don’t forget, it’s just to remove soil and hydrate/prepare the skin for the applications to follow. As a matter of fact if you wash too harshly you will irritate and can end up with seborrhea or eczema as well as acne.

There’s an old book you can maybe get from the library that explains it all, including that it’s nothing you’ve done. It’s called “Clear Skin” by Kenneth Flandermeyer. He cleared my acne when I was young, it was easy, took a little faith and time but nothing to be embarrassed about. Of course now I’m a lot older and I moisturize!

There are two substances you should look for in over-the-counter remedies: benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. Both will speed up the maturation of your pimples, so you will see possibly more come out that are already there, hiding, before you start to clear, but once you clear, you just have to maintain. Warning that the benzoyl can bleach clothing and sheets. The salicylic acid is milder. Start with the weakest strength you can find, remember, you’re not doing this to punish your skin and it’s not your fault, it will get better, I promise, I suffered years ago too.

So unless you have an idiosyncratic sensitivity or allergy to a food, it’s not about diet. That being said, you should be eating five or six portions of fruits and veggies every day, and eating whole grains, and cut back on meat… You’ll be glad when you’re an old fart like me who doesn’t look my age. Eliminate empty calories like soda and candy, and drink water. American women often don’t realize they are dehydrated. By the way, makeup can exacerbate acne, there is no makeup that won’t and all the companies lie, they all plug up pores no matter what they hype.

I hope this helps you: once you are informed, you can take your skin health into your own hands safely, with confidence. The clearer you stay, the less you will scar, and the substances I mentioned above can even reduce scarring to some degree.

There are “natural” plants that can help but I would personally wish you to stop suffering quickly so you can be happy and comfortable as soon as possible. By the way, I am a licensed massage therapist,and am certified in natural therapeutics, but I believe there are times when natural is best, and times when there’s nothing wrong with a little help from Western medicine. The bottom line for me is I am not a purist, and would not let you suffer when there are things that can help you quicker and easier. Later, you can make lots of fabulous natural facials but first, let’s get you cleared.

It is true that oil can clean skin but make sure you get organic, expeller pressed, and not an oil that is too heavy… Any oil can plug a pore. Perhaps honey, coconut oil, sweet almond. I use refined organic coconut because it is less likely to go rancid, and because I don’t want to smell like a coconut all day. All fruits and dairy have some sort of very mild acids in them that are safe to use, whether it’s mashed berries, Greek plain organic nonfat yogurt, canned plain pumpkin, mashed papaya or mango. Just use whatever is in the fridge when you get out of the shower, and whatever you don’t put on your face, just lick out of the bowl! My favorite at my age is a facial made of a little yogurt, a bit of honey, and a mashed strawberry or blueberry. I let it dry, then rinse. Honey is the best humectant I’ve ever found, and it is bacteriostatic, too. My skin feels soft the rest of the day, after I rinse it off.

You may have to experiment with what you eat. I found out that certain nuts caused my skin to breakout.

Any skin issues are usually related to copper imbalance. Google copper toxicity, especially in women, for a start.